The fog scattered.
The scenery around them had changed.
Above the boundless ocean, there was a 10-mile-squared remote island devoid of any living being.
Gu Qing Shan, Zhang Ying Hao, Ye Fei Li abruptly appeared on the island.
It was just a bit before dawn, when the ocean winds were at their strongest.
The three of them stood on the sandy shores, staring at the blue horizon.
“This place is quite scenic, it would make quite the resort location” Zhang Ying Hao commented.
“Weren’t we going to participate in some Apotheotic Combat? Why did we suddenly appear here? What are we going to do now?” Ye Fei Li excitedly asked.
“Look”
Gu Qing Shan pointed at the sandy beach in front of them.
Lines of neatly written text were being drawn into the fine sand:
[Both sides of the Apotheotic Combat had entered the Sea of Deep Mysteries]
[For the sake of fairness, you and your opponents will both have 30 minutes to rest and reorganize yourselves]
[It is currently rest time, and the countdown had already begun]
[After reorganization, you will receive the first piece of information]
[Attention, do not arbitrarily enter the sea]
[Note: Every hour, one type of Apocalypse will arrive on this world]
As the words finished displaying themselves, they slowly faded from the sand.
The three of them exchanged glances.
“We get 30 minutes of rest, that’s quite personable of them” Ye Fei Li commented.
Zhang Ying Hao sighed, put his rifle back on his back, and said: “And here I thought we’d have to begin killing right away. Since we have some room to prepare, our chances would be much greater”
Gu Qing Shan agreed: “Both [Order] and [Chaos] have their own ways of doing things. I presume that it won’t be something as simple as a battle—— because if that was the case, all we’d need would be to directly confront the Soul Shrieker and fight, there would be no need for such a huge spectacle”
The three of them relaxed and examined their surroundings.
This island wasn’t particularly huge, other than some trees, there weren’t any other living beings here.
The seawater seemed to contain some sort of unique, powerful, and eerie force. Just as the message in the sand had informed them earlier, it would be best not to arbitrarily go in.
The three of them sat down on the beach.
“One Apocalypse every hour? Seems kind of like a survival game huh?” Ye Fei Li commented.
Gu Qing Shan thought briefly, then sincerely answered him: “How do I say this, in truth, both [Chaos] and [Order] have the same goal of fighting against the Apocalypse, the only difference is their attitude toward living beings”
“If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be something as simple as survival” Zhang Ying Hao said.
“Right, it wouldn’t be simple survival, there should at least be a test of the capability to fight the Apocalypse”
Gu Qing Shan then told them everything he had learnt while helping the remnant will of the world and aiding it against [Chaos].
Zhang Ying Hao and Ye Fei Li fell into thought, while Gu Qing Shan also pondered the matter of this Apotheotic Combat.
Only the sound of waves crashing into the beach could be heard.
All of a sudden.
Gu~~~
A tiny noise.
Gu Qing Shan and Zhang Ying Hao both turned to Ye Fei Li.
Ye Fei Li rubbed his stomach and spoke, embarrassed: “I’m hungry”
“A World Destroyer can become hungry too?” Zhang Ying Hao was surprised.
“Don’t be ridiculous, I’ve always required a lot of energy, specifically to fuse with the origin power of the soul to convert into canned drinks——– how about we eat something first? That way we’ll be a bit more ready for battle later on” Ye Fei Li suggested.
Zhang Ying Hao froze.
This is an Apotheotic Combat you know.
Are we really going to eat a meal first?
It kinda feels like a flag…
“Fine, since this is technically time to rest, I wouldn’t mind having something to eat”
Saying so, Zhang Ying Hao took out a bottle of liquor from his personal storage space.
“I only carry alcohol with me, if you want something to eat, ask Gu Qing Shan”
He took out three tall glasses and began pouring alcohol.
Gu Qing Shan froze.
This is the Apotheotic Combat, a crucial moment of our journey so far…
Why didn’t I think about having a proper meal first?
“No problem”
Saying so, he reached towards his hip.
Then, he realized.
“Guys, I’m sorry” Gu Qing Shan shrugged, “Everything in my Inventory Bag is gone”
“Did someone steal it?” Zhang Ying Hao asked.
“No” Gu Qing Shan recalled what happened at the giant corpse’s place and answered: “It was for something else; everything became an offering”
“So we don’t have any food?” Zhang Ying Hao was a bit disappointed.
Ye Fei Li suddenly took out a pot, then various other spices.
“You aren’t Gu Qing Shan, why do you have these things?”
Zhang Ying Hao asked.
Ye Fei Li scratched his head awkwardly and replied: “That is… my wife requested that I learn how to cook, so I have everything prepared”
Gu Qing Shan received the pot, took a careful look at it, then casually commented: “This pot looks new”
“I haven’t used it yet” Ye Fei Li shrugged.
The two others looked at him.
“Since she’s not with me, I don’t have any motivation to learn cooking” Ye Fei Li made excuses.
Gu Qing Shan said: “Alright, since the tools are all here, give me some ingredients, I’ll make a meal”
Ye Fei Li searched himself for a bit, only to produce a few trunks of instant noodles.
“…Don’t tell me this is all you have?” Gu Qing Shan said.
“This is the taste of home” Ye Fei Li weakly explained.
Zhang Ying Hao shook his head, then put the bottle of liquor on the table for them to see.
“See this? This is the highest quality liquor in my stash, specifically prepared for grand occasions like this Apotheotic Combat, so…”
“So?” Ye Fei Li asked.
Zhang Ying Hao answered sternly: “If you want me to do something so undignified like eating instant noodle before a battle against a Deity, I’ll definitely refuse”
Gu Qing Shan also shook his head: “Eating noodles alone is also not a good idea, we need a bit of good quality meat to supplement ourselves”
All of a sudden, a loud noise could be heard from above.
The three of them looked up.
Only to see a flock of birds flying overhead.
Their physiques were perfect, and their cawing was clear.
“Great birds” Gu Qing Shan praised.
“Great birds indeed” Ye Fei Li agreed.
“Perfect timing too” Zhang Ying Hao also commented.
…
A few minutes later.
The three of them were using tall glasses to drink top-quality liquor while dining on instant noodles.
In front of them, the large pot was filled with meat that exuded an alluring smell, while the plate in front of them contained steaming hot cooked meat.
“How did you cook these dishes?” Ye Fei Li asked.
Gu Qing Shan replied: “I was limited by the environment, so I boiled the big one to make soup, while the small one was deep-fried, seasoned with a bit of salt and parsley, other spices would also work”
“A toast for the Apotheotic Combat” he raised his glass.
The three of them knocked their glasses together and gulped it all down.
“If we’re only going up against an Apocalypse, I don’t think we’d have much to worry about. We’ve already survived both the Man Killer Fiend virus and the Game of Eternal” Zhang Ying Hao commented.
He refilled the glass for Ye Fei Li.
Ye Fei Li also agreed: “Although I’ve mutated, I at least managed to continue living from an Apocalypse, and you know better than anyone how I live”
The three of them toasted again.
Gu Qing Shan recalled the giant corpse and smiled bitterly.
According to the giant corpse, the Apocalypses within the Reality Gate weren’t considered to be that great at all.
Apocalypse…
He then recalled the Fairy of Time’s words.
Regarding the Man Killer Fiends—–
…
“That was originally an Apocalypse from a parallel world. In that destroyed parallel world, there existed not only the Man Eater and Man Killer fiends, but rather over 1000 different mutated forms, some of which were simply irresistible and directly wiped out the infinite worlds”
“Although this Apocalyptic calamity managed to make it to our reality, it has already used up its power, leaving only the two forms of Man Eater Fiend and Man Killer Fiend”
…
Regarding the Game of Eternal——-
…
“It was also an infinitely weakened Apocalyptic calamity. Originally, it would force all living beings to participate”
…
Gu Qing Shan filled his own glass and gulped it all down.
“I’ll be honest, you shouldn’t underestimate the Apocalypse. True Apocalypses are even more terrifying than what we’ve known so far” Gu Qing Shan replied.
Zhang Ying Hao felt interested and asked: “What does a True Apocalypse look like?”
Gu Qing Shan shook his head, then answered with a careful tone: “I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but I hope what we’re going to run into this time isn’t a True Apocalypse”
Zhang Ying Hao and Ye Fei Li exchanged glances, both becoming a lot more serious.
If even Gu Qing Shan felt that something was hard to deal with——-
It would be a truly tough issue.
And we need to face it with everything we have.
…
Half an hour soon passed.
The three of them were full, their spirits were high as they waited to set out.
“It’s here” Zhang Ying Hao pointed at the sandy beach.
Lines of new text were slowly manifesting on the sand:
[This place is the Sea of Deep Mysteries, the legendary ocean filled with secrets]
[Within this ocean, the only mode of transport that can be used is a boat called the ‘Crossing Fish’, if anyone uses any other modes of transport to traverse, they would be eliminated by one or many mysterious forces within the ocean]
[Now, you will obtain a damaged ‘Crossing Fish’]
[You may use the trees on the island to repair it, then use it to quickly escape the island]
[Attention: In half an hour, a kind of Apocalypse will descend upon the remote island]
[Special attention: This boat named ‘Crossing Fish’ will only allow two living beings onboard at once]
All the displayed text faded away after they had been read.
On the beach not too far from the three of them, a tattered and damaged small boat suddenly appeared.
